


Ensnared

by Thirrin



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, F/M, Fae Magic, Monster Hunter!Sakura, enemies to maybe friends???, this was an anon ask request on tumblr that got waaay out of hand, to maybe something more???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25557274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thirrin/pseuds/Thirrin
Summary: Sakura's been on the hunt for nearly a month when an impromptu fight catches her quarry's attention.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Zetsu
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	Ensnared

She's on day five of her cross-country trek, with no actual sign of the beast besides the aftermath of its attacks. Normally she sticks to bounties on monsters she's familiar with - rabid werewolves, feral vampires, giant ogres, and demonic beasts - but the Royal Council in the capitol city has promised her a hefty sum for the head of the creature that's ravaged _eleven_ villages already.

Well, not her _personally._ It's a general bounty that any monster hunter can cash in on, but she knows a majority of the hunters who had initially set out have either been killed or abandoned the quest altogether. She's been tempted to quit as well since it was a full two weeks of tracking and following other hunters' trails before she finally caught up and then another week of hunting when the trail went cold. 

But the bounty is a price she couldn't say no to, so here she is, a full kingdom away and still at least an entire day behind her quarry.

There hadn't been many first-hand accounts of the beast's attacks but, from what she's been able to gather, it sounds like some sort of forest spirit. Sprouting from the earth itself, commanding the plants to do its bidding, and always disappearing into the woods once it has had its fill of destruction and makes its escape. 

However, last time she checked, forest spirits don't tend to _eat_ humans.

Sakura clicks her tongue to urge her horse onward, peering out from under the hood of her cloak to watch the trees that lined the sides of the road, searching for movement. The fae blood in her veins sing at the presence of Danger in this forest and she's not one to ignore her instincts.

She'd left the small river village - the location of the creature's latest attack - yesterday morning and had crossed the plains to reach the forest to the west. Reports from the village survivors had claimed that the monster had gone south-southwest, bypassing the plains entirely to disappear into the woods, but Sakura is thinking further ahead. The nearest settlement lays here to the west, with not a single town within a week's travel southward. She'd been mapping and tracking the trail of carnage enough to note that, while the monster's path wasn't straightforward, it was undoubtedly heading to the ancient Faewood forest - one of four on the continent - on the other side of the mountains.

Her father hails from the eastern forest - where the trees are taller than castles and wider than houses, with red bark that smells like honey, blue-green leaves bigger than her head, canopies that are always blooming with flowers, and roots that rise out of the ground to make bridges. She grew up in the Spring Court with her fae father and human mother until she eventually set out on her own, taking up this business of hunting monsters and visiting lands she'd never even heard of.

To the west lies the forest of the Fall Court and, while she'd love to see the canopies who's colors rival those of her home, she intends to stop the beast before it can disappear into the Faewood. 

Her calculating has been meticulous. She's measured out how much time passes between attacks and accounted for distance between villages, arriving at a rough estimate of how fast the beast can travel. Having figured out how much ground it can cover under a certain amount of time has led her to the conclusion that she'll have a full two and a half days to bunker down in the village ahead before it makes its arrival. If it's traveling purely through the forest that surrounds the southern half of the plains, it will take it a while to reach the town, giving her enough time to prepare.

All she has to do is make it to the village by nightfall and wait.

**: :**

Sakura settles down for the night in her room at the inn, satisfied with her prep work thus far. She's planted several of her spy poppies around the perimeter of the village, tiny dots of red amongst the browns and greys of buildings that will warn her of any signs of approaching magic. Her weapons are sharpened and her belly full with her first warm meal in two days, the dining hall and tavern below still loud with the evening's patrons.

She'd met with the village leaders shortly after stabling her horse to warn them of the attack she's expecting in two days' time, finally convincing them after she had shown her extensive mapping of the monster's previous sightings. They would announce a curfew in the morning to give their citizens the best chances of staying safe without eliciting a panic and had given Sakura their permission to set up her traps.

The creature's attacks always came at night, with its victims caught unawares as they travel the streets of their home. Oftentimes there were multiple kills, as one meal a night didn't seem to be enough to satisfy its hunger, but it had yet to break into any homes or buildings.

So, as long as none of the villagers stayed out past the impromptu curfew, there should be no casualties.

She lays restlessly under the covers until, eventually, she manages to fall asleep, dreamless but peaceful and undisturbed until morning. Sakura awakens with the sun and is quick to dress and set out to search the town and its surrounding woods to get a better lay of the land. The villagers give her a wide berth, but she's used to it and pays them no mind, instead focused on making sure she knows every nook and cranny and path in and out of the town.

The monster would likely come in from the south, but she wants all of her bases covered, unwilling to let the beast escape her blade.

She takes her lunch in her room, prepping her tools and supplies to lay her traps later that evening, when the townsfolk are in their homes and less likely to bother her. Her sword never leaves her side out of paranoia as she works by the light of the sunset and the moon as it rises and she eventually returns to the inn once she's satisfied with her work, a little frustrated to find a few too many patrons still hanging around in the tavern. Sakura had hoped the villagers would take the curfew seriously, but at least they weren't out on the streets.

Still, she would shadow them once they were finished with their merrymaking, ensuring that everyone got home safely. Her traps wouldn't activate without her magic, but she didn't need any curious drunks disturbing her work.

So, Sakura takes up a seat in the corner of the tavern, keeping to herself as she eats her dinner and maintains a watchful eye on the rambunctious guests. They mostly avoid her, only sparing a few side-eyed glances, but one of the men is drunken enough to stumble towards her table, his grin a little too friendly and his words too slurred. She's polite in her refusal to join him at their table and ignores his attempts to persuade her as she suddenly stiffens, her gaze becoming far-off as her poppies call to her.

There's movement in the woods north of the town, the scent of the supernatural caught on a breeze and carried to the flowers she'd planted. They sing in a language none of the humans can hear, warning her of something approaching through the trees.

Sakura stands abruptly and shoves past the drunkard, headed for the door to the tavern and looking to the innkeeper with a serious gaze.

"Lock the doors and stay inside," She calls, the fierceness behind her green eyes leaving no room for argument. The innkeeper pales as she draws her sword and the drunken man, now a little annoyed at her dismissal and not seeming to feel the changed mood in the room, approaches her, calling her a few rude names.

She places a delicate hand on the center of his chest and forcefully shoves him back, sending the man halfway across the tavern and onto the bench at his companions' table. They all stare at her with wide, shocked eyes and she turns, nodding to the innkeeper as she steps out onto the street. The doors are hurriedly shut and barred behind her and she slinks into the shadows, headed for an empty cart next to the blacksmiths. She hops onto it with ease and leaps higher still to access the rooftops of the town, running near silently across shingles and thatched roofs until she arrives at the northern edge of the village, where her poppies are singing the loudest.

She crouches low in the shadow of a chimney, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she eyes the trees. It's too early and the wrong direction - had she miscalculated the monster's traveling speed? Had it decided to circle around the village and come in from the opposite direction? Perhaps it was smarter than she had first anticipated.

Sakura is completely still for about five minutes until she finally sees movement, her expression becoming even more confused as she spots a wolfbeast through the trees, its grey fur catching the moonlight through the occasional break in the canopy.

Her eyes are the only things that move as she watches, catching sight of another huge wolf, slinking quietly through the trees and brush, and then a third and a fourth. Her eyes cut up to the moon to confirm that it isn't full, but these wolves are too large and oddly shaped to be normal animals. 

It's a pack of feral werewolves, too far lost in their transformations to turn human ever again, and they're headed straight for the village. 

Surely _this_ wasn't the beast she'd been tracking for nearly a month. She'd been so sure it was some sort of forest spirit based on the reports she'd heard - a creature of the woods, its body split between black and white with golden eyes full of hunger.

But, as Sakura watches the pack cross through the less wooded area and into the small northern wheatfield, she notes that one of the wolves is pure white. It's an odd coloring, yes, but not exceedingly rare.

Her bewilderment grows when one of the beasts exits the tall wheat stalks and she sees pitch-black fur and golden eyes.

She's still unsure if this is what she’d been hunting or just a _very strange_ coincidence, but Sakura isn't about to let the pack attack the village.

Still hidden in the shadows, she watches three of the wolves climb the low stone wall and pass the buildings to enter the town while the fourth, the white one, disappears to circle the perimeter. Her poppies keep her altered to its location and Sakura follows after the pack as they head down one of the streets, searching for a villager still out late. She runs across the rooftops from shadow to shadow as clouds pass over the bright moon, a twitch of her finger making the mimic bells down one of the alleys ahead begin to jingle.

They chime with the sound of laughter and the wolves take the bait, their ears twitching as they head in the direction of what they presume to be a pair of drunks returning home. Turning a corner, they enter one of the side streets and crouch low, almost as silent as Sakura's steps.

The laughter is coming from around another corner some 30 feet ahead and they approach their presumed prey cautiously, ready to make a quick kill and not alert the sleeping town. Normal wolves would typically go for the livestock, but the past lives of the werewolves makes them crave _human_ flesh, desiring that which they have lost.

They've obviously picked up the scent of the bedsheet Sakura had snatched from the inn before the staff could take it to be cleaned and they draw closer to the alley corner, a low growl building from the black-furred leader. She crouches on the roof of the building at the corner and waits until they've reached the intersection, barely giving the pack a moment to realize the alley with the laughter is empty before she sends a burst of her magic and activates the trap they're standing on.

The wire netting hidden under layers of dirt between the cobblestone path springs to life, fully ensnaring one of the smaller werewolves and part of the one with black fur. The third wolf managed to jump aside to avoid the trap and Sakura clicks her tongue in annoyance when the leader manages to free itself before the sharp wire can fully constrict. The dark red blood that splatters on the ground is proof that it had at least been sliced up fairly well and the fully trapped wolf howls in pain as the netting tightens around its restrained body.

Before the two beasts can try to assist their packmate, Sakura leaps down to land on it and, in one fluid motion, stabs her sword through the top of its skull. It instantly falls still and she removes her blade as the two werewolves roar, standing tall on their hind legs in a mockery of their lost human forms. They charge and she flips backward to avoid the swipe of a huge clawed hand, the rest of the street they'd been traveling on at her back and the alley to her right.

Her poppies warn her that the white wolf is coming to answer the pack's call and she ducks to avoid the snap of a snarling jaw, kicking out her leg to swipe the grey-furred wolf off its feet. She swings her blade and manages to catch its belly as it turns and scrambles back onto its paws, screaming in pain as the silver threaded through the core of her sword reacts with its flesh.

Werewolves can recover from even the most gruesome wounds when they're dealt by normal blades, but silver is the one thing they can't heal from.

It clutches at its middle, a burning ache filling its body from the touch of silver, and lunges wildly at Sakura. It's lost in its rage and pain and attacks without caution, growing more furious as she dodges its claws and fangs. The black wolf manages to circle around to her other side and swipes at her back, catching her off-guard and ripping through her cloak, leather brigandine, and tunic to reach her flesh.

Sakura curses and twists away, ducking low and diving into a roll to put some distance between her and the pair. She pops up into a defensive stance with her sword raised, rolling her shoulder and flinching at the pain shooting up her back. The cuts aren't too deep, but werewolf claws always sting.

Fortunately, she can deal with a few scratches - it's the teeth she has to worry about.

She hears the white wolf approaching from behind and leaps upwards just in time as it sprints at her angrily, backflipping in the air to bring her boots down on its back. The force drives it to the ground and she plunges her sword through its shoulder, missing its neck by inches.

Sakura grins viciously as it screams, but the wolf she'd nearly gutted tackles her with a burst of unanticipated speed, its head barreling into her stomach and knocking her off its packmate before she can remove her sword. They both tumble and roll backwards, landing in a heap, and jaws snap at her face as Sakura tries to get on her feet again. Her weapon is still buried in the white wolf's shoulder and she snatches the dagger holstered on her thigh, ignoring how the grit of the stone street irritates her injury.

The grey wolf is on top of her, its eyes glowing with fury as she braces her feet against its chest to keep its jaws from reaching her and ripping out her throat. Her strength surges with a burst of magic and she kicks it off of, her body rolling and twisting until she's got one boot firmly planted on the ground and her other knee braced under her. She swings her arm upwards as the werewolf lunges and stabs her dagger up through the bottom of its jaw, grunting under the weight of its body as it collapses. Sakura quickly shoves its corpse off of her and returns to her defensive stance, brandishing her silver knife.

The remaining pair of beasts - the stark contrast between their fur is rather haunting in the moonlight, she notes - stare angrily at her, the white wolf clutching its mangled shoulder and blood dripping from the other's maw from where the netting had caught it. She pants as she unclasps her cloak, letting it fall, and all three hunters watch each other, waiting to see who would make the next move.

Sakura's gaze flickers to the side to spot her discarded sword, too far for her to grab before they could reach her, and she clutches her dagger tightly in her fist. Her body lowers slightly as she tenses and the wolves growl in fury, their fangs bared and their gazes dripping with malice. She turns on her heel moments before they drop to all fours and she sprints down the street, listening to the wolves racing after her.

She avoids the residential area and cuts through the market, less concerned with a few broken crates, to head for the west edge of the village. Sakura dives over a stall, the cloth canopy hanging over it brushing against her back as she flies through the opening and lands with a roll. She glances back as she hears the wolves simply barrel through it, sending splintered wood flying, and keeps running. Following the main road that cuts through the center of the town, Sakura spots the west entrance and urges herself to run faster, needing to get closer to the woods.

She can _feel_ hot breath on the back of her neck and she drops to the ground suddenly, ducking and curling to roll across the ground for a quick second before she kicks her legs out as the white wolf looms over where her body had been. It's caught off-guard mid-lunge and Sakura’s kick to its chest sends it flying into trees, crashing into a sturdy trunk as it gives a pained yelp. It lands upside down with its back against the tree and Sakura springs to her feet, avoiding a swipe from the black wolf.

The white beast is still while she slices her dagger at the remaining packmate, ducking and dodging its attacks but not landing very many hits herself. An uppercut to the chin catches the wolf by surprise enough for it to stumble backwards, giving Sakura enough room to spin into a roundhouse kick. Her leg connects with its side and it's sent into a different set of trees from the force, its body smashing right through a large sapling. The other wolf seems to have regained its senses but, before it can get back on its feet, Sakura drops into crouch and slams her palm against the earth.

Thick vines burst out of the forest floor, quickly ensnaring the werewolves. They wrap around their limbs, chests, and necks, binding the black wolf to the sturdy trunk of an oak and dragging the white one to the ground. Each vine they manage to get their teeth around or break with sheer strength is replaced with two more, completely restraining the monsters until they're immobile. She lets out a relieved sigh and stands, watching as the wolves roar and howl their frustration.

Sakura turns, knowing the vines will hold true while she retrieves her sword, and heads back into the village. The commotion of her battle has woken most of the town and lights begin to appear behind shuttered windows, a few brave villagers peeking out of their doors to see Sakura passing by. None fully exit their homes, still wary of danger, but they begin to grow curious enough to more openly watch her as she finds her sword from where it had been discarded and heads back to the west entrance, her expression grim. The werewolves are right where she left them and their growls turn ferocious at the sight of her blade, realizing her intentions.

She heads for the white wolf first, its gaze too focused and intelligent for her comfort as it lays pinned to the earth, completely still and staring at her with fury. She's only a few feet away when it suddenly _shifts_ , it's face turning just barely more human as its fur thins enough for actual skin to peek out. 

The partial transformation, a last ditch effort that likely took a lot of willpower, shrinks its body a full size, allowing it just enough time and space to pull free from the vines and lunge at Sakura. It can't hold the transformation long and almost instantly returns to its wolfbeast form, its claws skimming Sakura's shoulder as she dodges as quickly as she can, caught off-guard.

She's knocked off balance and lands on her back, one hand firmly planted on the ground and her fingers curling into the dirt. The white wolf leaps at her and a thick tree root surges out of the earth at Sakura's silent call, spearing the beast through the chest and exiting out the other side in a spray of blood and flesh.

The werewolf's horrible scream is answered by a roar from the black wolf, still pinned to its tree and forced to watch as the tree root drives through its packmate's chest to dig back into the ground. Thoroughly immobilized but still living despite the hole in its body, the white wolf screams and claws at the root, its gaze frantic and furious as it watches Sakura rise.

She pants, holding a hand to her shoulder, and approaches carefully. As she straightens up, she brandishes her sword in both hands and takes a breath.

Sakura twists her torso and swings, decapitating the werewolf with one clean slice.

There's an enraged roar from the black wolf and she's startled when it manages to break through its bonds with sheer strength, dislocating one of its arms in the process and likely breaking one of its legs, judging by the horrible _snap_ Sakura hears. Her connection to the vines was broken when her hand left the earth, so there's nothing to try to snatch the wolf back again and she drops into a defensive stance, cursing under her breath.

The wolf stands, panting and staring at Sakura with furious golden eyes as it clutches its still-limp arm. Bloodlust is radiating off of its form as it watches the hunter that killed its pack and she glares back, ready to end the fight.

But she's surprised when it suddenly turns and disappears into the woods, leaving Sakura to chase after it through the trees.

Sakura curses again and breaks into a sprint, but, three hours of hunting later, she's lost its trail and is forced to return to the village, frustrated with her only _partial_ victory.

She's unaware of a different set of golden eyes in the trees, watching her every move.

**: :**

The village leaders may be convinced that the werewolf pack was the monster she'd been hunting, but Sakura isn't so sure. Even if she _had_ miscalculated when it would arrive -

(Which she did, she just didn't know that yet.)

\- it still didn't explain the dissimilarities between the reports she'd heard from the other villages and the monsters she had fought last night. It didn't make sense.

And there was still the problem of the lone wolfbeast that had escaped.

So, Sakura stays an extra four days in the village, routinely checking the perimeter and searching the woods for any signs of danger, in case the forest spirit finally makes its appearance or the black wolf returns. The villagers become less wary of her but she still tries to keep her distance, admittedly flattered by the gifts she finds outside the door to her room.

On the morning of the fifth day, Sakura finally packs to leave. There's been nothing out of the ordinary and she worries that maybe the creature she'd been tracking had skipped this village entirely and gone to wreak havoc in another. It would be another four day's ride to the next town and she didn't want to waste more time waiting for something to happen. She's supplied with more food than she needs and is given quite the send-off by the thankful villagers, their calls and cheers making her smile under the hood of her cloak.

Her horse seems eager to be traveling again and he breaks into a canter once they're on the road, the village eventually disappearing behind the trees. Sakura rides all day with just a quick break around midday for lunch, unable to keep her suspicious gaze from traveling to the woods lining the road. It's well into the evening when she comes across an obstacle on the road and she dismounts to inspect the massive fallen tree blocking her path.

It's too tall and wide for her to risk trying to guide her horse over so she leaves the road and enters the trees to the right to look for a path around. Several smaller trees had been crushed under the huge oak and she doesn't find the base of the trunk until she reaches the river, clicking her tongue in annoyance. The current is too rough and the water too deep for her to cross, even on horseback, so she backtracks and tries the left side of the road.

The canopy of the oak had landed in a large thorny thicket, the wall of brambles rising above her head and extending out further into the forest. She isn't sure how far off the road they have to go to find a way around it, but going _through_ is certainly not an option. Even the shortest of the thorns are two inches long and, as she's in unknown land, there's no telling if the plants were poisonous.

Sakura kneels in front of the dangerous brush, her horse standing just a few feet behind her, and presses a hand to the earth, hoping to convince the plants to part and allow them safe passage. To her frustration, however, the brambles refuse to budge and she sighs, standing and turning to grab her steed's reins.

She follows the edge of the thorny wall on foot, growing more concerned the deeper into the woods she's forced to travel. It's not a straight line, fortunately, and the bramble begins to curve upwards, giving Sakura hope that she'd reach the end of it soon. It's half an hour until she finally finds a break in the thicket, the thorns thinning out enough for her to carefully guide her horse through with a sigh of relief. They barely make it five steps before there's a sudden rustle and groan behind them and Sakura spins around to find that the hole in the bramble wall has closed, barring off the way they'd come. The thicket seems to shudder, brandishing its sharp thorns, and Sakura steps back, wary and angry.

The forest seems to come alive with sounds now, a breeze dancing through the canopy overhead and the trees groaning as their branches bend and wave in the wind. Each rustle makes her horse more and more anxious and Sakura struggles to calm him, speaking softly and keeping a tight hold on his reins. It's more than just the noise frightening him - she can feel it too, that disturbing aura that had fallen over the woods, filling Sakura with worry as well. She tries to keep calm and her gentle words seem to eventually do the trick and he settles down, shaking his head nervously but not trying to pull free any longer. 

She lets out a relieved sigh but barely has a moment to relax before a sudden loud _snap_ to her right startles her horse enough for him to rear back with a frightened whinny. Sakura leaps to the side to dodge the flailing hooves as they land heavily on the forest floor. The horse breaks off into a run, heading deeper into the forest and leaving her behind as she scrambles to her feet with a curse.

Sakura races after him with only a moment of hesitation, not wanting to get lost in the woods but unwilling to lose her horse. She manages to keep him in sight but, when the brush grows too thick, she reluctantly picks a tree and climbs its trunk with unnatural ease. Carefully running along the branches and leaping between them, she manages to recover the distance she had lost and follows her horse through the canopy, aiming to get ahead and drop down onto the saddle.

The trees of her home were much larger and sturdier than this forest and she'd grown up with little worry of something breaking under her weight as she traveled by treetop, assured that she would never fall. 

But these woods are small in comparison and there are too many thin and flimsy branches, so her pace is slower and more careful than she would like. Still, it's the only chance Sakura has, so she continues on, startling when a branch suddenly moves under her foot.

A branch _trips_ her and she's falling before she realizes what had happened, reaching out blindly to try to find something to grab and stop her descent as smaller branches scratch at her face.

(She'd later be annoyed when she comes to the realization that the larger branches actively moved _away_ from her hand.)

Something grabs her ankle and stops her just feet from the forest floor, her leg aching slightly from the sudden halt. Sakura glances up in surprise to see a vine wrapped around her boot but, before it fully registers, the vine suddenly loosens its hold and she's dropped the rest of the way, landing with a yelp. Hissing as she sits up and rubs at her sore neck, Sakura freezes and hurries to her feet as she hears something rustling through the brush around her. She'd landed in a relatively clear area but the canopy of leaves is thick overhead, blocking out most of the moonlight except for the stray beam here and there.

There's the crunch of leaves and the snap of a twig and her hand flies to her hip, startled when she doesn’t immediately feel the hilt of her sword. She looks down in shock to confirm that her sword is missing and glances up at the canopy overhead in horror, spotting her blade, scabbard and all, caught in the branches.

Sakura's attention snaps forward once more as she hears movement ahead of her and she crouches defensively, her other hand slowly moving to the dagger still strapped to her thigh.

She stills entirely as a pair of golden eyes appear in the darkness, her heart pounding in her ears and a cold pit dropping in her stomach. The eyes are unblinking as they stare at her and the forest falls unsettlingly silent. Sakura's breathing sounds too loud in comparison and she holds the golden gaze, unwilling to look away for even a moment.

Nothing moves for a full minute but her dagger is in her hand within moments as the creature suddenly surges forward and breaks through the brush. She'd been expecting snarling jaws and black fur but is met with sight of a more human-shape, a blur of black and white when it passes through the rare beam of moonlight.

In the second it takes Sakura to raise her knife, a thorny vine snaps forward from behind to wrap around her wrist, making her gasp as her arm is yanked backwards. She twists to dodge the tackle from the creature and the vine gives a sharp yank, leaving her shrieking as it pulls her arm at an odd angle and _twists_. Forced to drop her knife, Sakura turns and spins to right the angle of her arm and catches a glimpse of the creature disappearing into the brush again.

She hurriedly grips the vine wrapped around her bloody wrist, hissing at how the thorns seem to grow to dig deeper into her skin, and bares her teeth as she sends a surge of her magic through it. It burns and shrivels at the intense energy, the length wrapped around her wrist turning to ash while the rest of the vine quickly pulls away to slink back into the darkness.

Sakura's hands burst into a green glow as she quickly heals the worst of her wounds, the cuts from the thorns still stinging. Panting, she glancing around cautiously but, as she moves to grab her knife, she's yanked backwards as something catches the end of her cloak.

She lands hard on her back and is dazed slightly when she hits her head, but the feeling of her cloak being pulled and restricting around her throat quickly brings her to her senses. Sakura glances up and back, panicking, and sees the thorny bramble from earlier clutching the end of her cloak, dragging her backwards into the brush. Her shriek is choked and cut short and she scrambles to undo the clasp around her neck, leaping away and gasping for breath as she lands on her knees.

But she's not given a moment to rest as something tackles her from the left, gold eyes appearing as she's knocked hard onto her side. Large hands find her shoulders and she's forced onto her back, sharp, pointed teeth catching the moonlight as the creature looms over her in a crouch.

Claws dig into her shoulders, making her hiss, and Sakura takes in the sight of a _mostly_ human face - half black and half white, split right down the middle. she can't resist her shudder as it lowers its face to drag its tongue over the exposed skin of her neck. Up from her collar and over her jaw to her cheek, catching blood from one of the scratches from her fall.

For a monster that eats human flesh, its breath smelled oddly like pine.

The grin that spreads across its face is terrifying and Sakura manages to pull herself out of her frightened stupor, tucking her knees against her chest and rolling back on her shoulders until she can slip her legs up between their bodies. She wraps them around its neck, ankles locked behind its head, and _squeezes_ , twisting her hips sharply to throw it off of her. It seems surprised by the action, growling angrily as it rights itself, and Sakura rolls into a crouch, having put a bit of distance between her and the monster.

It sits up on its knees, moves one leg forward to plant its foot in a half-step, and raises its hands, fingers clawed and curled inwards. Teeth bared, vines suddenly surge out of the darkness behind it and dart towards Sakura with frightening speed, covered in wicked looking thorns.

Sakura drops from her crouch to her knees and slams both of her hands onto the ground with an angry scream, demanding the forest to obey. The vines stop their assault just inches from her face and Sakura stares past them to glare heartedly at the black and white creature. It seems shocked that she'd managed to wrestle control from it and those golden eyes stare back at her.

It pushes its body forward slowly to test her strength and the barrage of vines in front of her twitch but don't otherwise move. They stay locked in the stalemate and Sakura takes the moment to look the creature over more thoroughly.

Besides its odd coloring and the sharp teeth and claws, it looked almost completely human. Most of its - _his_ features are lost on the black half of his body but she can clearly make out the sharp jaw and high cheekbones on his white half. His ears are pointed at the tips, much like her own, and his messy, grass-green hair is kept short and shaggy. She's surprised to find him actually partially dressed, his black pants likely hiding a multitude of bloodstains in the darkness of the forest.

His head tilts as he inspects her just as closely for a few moments before that grin returns and he presses forward again, still knelt several feet away from her and unable to regain control of the vines.

Sakura's mind is racing for an escape from this situation but she's startled when he suddenly _speaks_

"You smell of the forest," Comes his voice, his tone surprisingly soft - until he continues and his voice takes a raspy, harder turn. " **But you taste like human** _._ "

Disturbed, Sakura barks out a sharp reply.

"Who are you?" Her eyes narrow, sweat beading on her brow and her fingers digging into the dirt from her desperate attempt to maintain control of the vines still pointed at her. " _What_ are you?!"

His expression turns curious before his eyes light up, his grin stretching unnaturally far across his face.

"You wish to know me? **Give me your name and I'll tell you mine** _._ "

Sakura's eyes narrow and her lips curl in a dry smirk, her own green gaze glowing briefly in the dark.

"Nice try, but I won't fall for that." Her fingers dig deeper into the ground and the vines pull back from her slightly, surprising the odd monster. "I was _raised_ in a fae court - those old tricks won't work on me."

He blinks for the first time since he'd attacked her, his grin falling but his lips still parted just enough for her to see his teeth. His hands lower and the bloodlust that had been radiating off his form disappears almost entirely.

"You're like me," He says incredulously and Sakura nearly stumbles forward as the force she'd been bracing her body against to keep the vines in check suddenly dissipates.

Her eyes go wide for a moment before she catches herself and her expression turns furious.

"I'm _nothing_ like you, _monster._ " She hisses, digging her hands harder into the ground until they're mostly buried under the earth. She sends the wave of vines racing back at him, barreling into his chest and sending the _fae_ creature flying backwards into brush.

Sakura can't spot her dagger anywhere but her sword is still caught in the branches overhead so she sends another surge of magic into the earth, the nearby trees shuddering and untangling their branches. Her weapon falls free and she leaps to her feet, quickly catching it and breaking into a sprint as she spins around to face the opposite direction.

She's undoubtedly lost and her horse is gone for good but she _needs_ to get out of this damned forest.

Her breathing is haggard from her panic and she runs as fast as she can, desperate to put some distance between her and the strange monster. Just enough for her to get a brief moment of respite before she faces him again.

She won't return home empty handed.

Sakura barely realizes her screaming instincts aren't her frazzled nerves before something suddenly charges out of the darkness to her right and slams into her, a vicious snarl filling her ears and rough fur against her face. All she sees is a blur of black as she crashes into the ground and tumbles with her assailant on top of her, sharp claws digging deeply into her back.

Through her scream, all Sakura can think is _'Great.'_

She manages to kick the familiar werewolf off of her, only a little satisfied at the sound of its ribs crunching from the force, but it takes a chunk of her flesh for its efforts. Sakura manages to get her feet under her and lets out a shout of frustration, unsheathing her sword and keeping ahold of the scabbard with her free hand as an impromptu weapon. 

Panting, she can feel thick rivulets of blood dripping down her back to puddle under her on the forest floor and she grits her teeth. A bright green glow bursts from her back for a partial healing, trying to at least stop the bleeding, and she watches the wolf as it crouches low and slowly circles her, fury behind its gold eyes.

She's feeling drained and nearing exhaustion, but Sakura _refuses_ to die here.

When her vision just barely starts to swim, she abruptly cuts off the healing and turns, keeping the werewolf in her line of sight. Its hackles are raised and its claws dig into the dirt as it slowly walks around her on all fours, its eyes wide and feral.

Sakura ignores the pain in her body and brandishes her sword, her gaze darting from its shoulders to its paws to its eyes to its legs, searching for any tensing of muscles or signs that it's about to attack. Its back claws dig a little deeper into the earth and she braces herself, ready to dodge and defend when it strikes.

The wolf lunges forward and rears up on its hind legs as it sprints at her, a ferocious growl echoing through the forest and the beast just a couple feet away when a blur of white and black tackles it from the side, sending both bodies careening away from Sakura and into brush.

She stands there in shock for a moment before she races after the two monsters, finding the faecreature pinning the larger werewolf to the ground. His teeth are buried in its throat and the wolf rakes its claws angrily down his back as it tries to kick him off. Both beasts are snarling and growling as they rip into each other and Sakura is unsure what to do. She startles when the wolf finally manages to get a good grip on him and flings the faebeing over its head in her direction.

Moving on a whim, she lunges to the side and catches him with her scabbard-holding arm. When he looks at her with that split-color face, gold eyes full of surprise, she simply nods and rights him. A furious roar pulls their attention back to the wolf and it charges in a wild, unguarded attack.

Almost simultaneously, Sakura and her unlikely ally drop to a knee and send a flurry of tangled vines flying out of the forest brush behind them, his hands raised while her palm is slammed against the ground. The barrage of strong vines hit it square in the chest and wrap around its torso before the wolf can be sent flying backwards. They constrict tightly around its throat and the werewolf howls as the thorns dig deep, brought to its knees as the vines thoroughly restrain it. 

The faecreature stays in place, his fingers curling inwards, and Sakura rises with a stony expression, a breeze dancing through the forest to blow her escaped hair back as steps forward. She drops her scabbard to wrap both hands around the hilt of her sword, forcing her breathing to be even as she stands to her full height despite the wounds in her back. The wolf gives one last enraged roar and she strikes, stabbing her blade forward and into its maw to punch through the back of its skull.

It instantly stills after one last choked growl and Sakura yanks her sword back out of its mouth, her shoulders slumping as her exhaustion begins to set in. The vines slowly release their tight hold and disappear back into the earth. She turns and isn't sure if she should be relieved or worried to see the black and white creature standing behind her, looking over her intensely.

"...thanks," She eventually says, giving him one last nod before starting to make her retreat. She was too tired to fight anymore tonight and she wanted to get away before he decided to try to kill her again.

"Wait," He calls and Sakura curses herself for pausing and glancing back. He holds out his white hand, her dagger resting on his palm.

" **You dropped this** _._ "

The raspier voice makes her shudder but she turns, lips pursed as he smiles at her. 

She honestly shouldn't have been so surprised when, as she reaches to retrieve her knife, his other hand darts out to snatch her wrist. Sakura hisses under her breath and tries to pull free, but his grip is strong and he pulls her a little closer, golden eyes searching her face as his smile falls.

"I'm Zetsu," He says, his voice soft and full of a yearning she doesn't understand. His grasp around her wrist is gentle despite its strength and he reaches his free hand up to caress her face, his touch light and delicate and too familiar for her tastes. Zetsu's thumb runs across her cheek and he brushes a few stray pink hairs away from her face, pulling her closer still.

"Please," He whispers, begging almost desperately as both of his voices speak at once. " ** _What is your name_** _?"_

She can't seem to bring herself to look away from his gaze, her struggling stopping as she stares up at the strange being. She wets her split lip, blushing when the movement makes his eyes flicker down to her mouth, and finds herself reluctantly answering.

"I'm Sakura."

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a drabble for a tumblr ask but i got way too into it and it got out of hand. maybe ill come back to this one day
> 
> hope you enjoyed!


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